Ireland Day 5: Splashing About at Slieve League

Slieve League Cliffs

On the wall of our Air BnB, there was a local painting of the Slieve League mountains with a series of sandy beaches. Erin declared - let's go there! and Craig, the talented researcher, was able to figure out where "there" was. So we followed the windy roads along the coast until we found the viewpoint similar to that painting. The only problem was, we were up high and the beach was, unsuprisingly, down low. 

Now, if you know us, we were not about to go traipsing through someone's back field, climb over a barbed wire fence, and slip on to the beach, so we needed to figure out a legit way to get there. It appeared there was a road that rounded a house and then disappeared behind the hill so we gave it a go and were able to find our way there - to a proper parking lot with a port-a-potty no less.

Having the beach to ourselves, we thought we'd discovered a hidden gem but within a half hour, the tiny beach was starting to fill with a few fisherman, a well-equipped family with wet suits and boogie boards, and a tour group examining the rocks of the cliff wall. But we felt victorious all the same!

The main event of the day was to hop on a smaller boat than the Cliffs of Moher trip (just 9 other sightseers and ourselves), and head towards the Slieve League Cliffs. This one felt a little bit like the tugboat that chugged slowly along but the sights were splendid.

We had bravely signed up for the boat that included a swimming spot. They had promised wet suits and it seemed like a rare opportunity. When the boat pulled into a small bay and the back ladder was lowered, one Northern Irish gentleman stood up, stripped to his bathing suit, and jumped straight into the water without flinching. The captain looked around and announced, "That's all then, yeah?" and joked that Erin wouldn't be swimming because she was sitting there wearing gloves in the "height of summer" (note: it was about 10 degrees and very windy). We looked at each other, then at the very small boat with no noticeable wet suits and absolutely no privacy for changing afterwards, and thought of the long trip still ahead. Then, we nodded along with the captain and were perfectly content to skip that experience.

The swimming spot 

Not too long later, we rounded the corner of the next outcropping and were awarded views of the highest peak in the Slieve League mountain range. We could see the walkway we were at the day before, the visitors looking like ants so far above us. We learned a bit of the history of the lighthouses and hill markings and how they were used in World War Two. Then Erin, knowing she was supposed to be admiring the cliffs, got distracted by a pod of dolphins swimming by! The captain obliged her request and got a bit closer to them. 

It was a pod of about 10 common dolphins, from what we could tell. They were putting on quite a show, leaping out of the water, arching in the air, and diving back in to swim beside our boat. One even leaped high up, showing off her tail as she sailed gracefully back into the water. It ended up being one of our best dolphin viewing experiences! 

We returned back on land, very happy with our outing and with the decision to stay so near to Sliabh Liag that we could experience its majesty and the quiet of this corner of Ireland.